A HOLLYWOOD photographer who smuggled cocaine worth $400,000 into Hong Kong in the bottom of his Dr Martens shoes was jailed for 71/2 years yesterday.
Brian Rappaport, 52, was stopped when he landed on a flight from Thailand on December 21 last year. Customs officers found nearly 200 grams of the drug hidden in the insoles of his shoes.
But Rappaport, described by his lawyer as a 'gentle, ageing hippy', could now die in prison, the High Court heard.
Following his arrest the photographerdiscovered he had a life-threatening disease and is now under medical supervision.
But Deputy Judge Longley said it was a matter for the Government to decide whether to release Rappaport early on humanitarian grounds.
The photographer started his career taking pictures of topless girls for Britain's tabloid Sun newspaper.
